New Projects

To keep myself busy during the spring and summer, I now have a few projects which I will be devoting my time to.

1. My YouTube page has been horribly neglected over the last year and a half. I haven't had many new videos to post. Today, I created a video for my new recording of the performance of silence. To better utilize YouTube as a potential place for more people (and potential commissioners) to access audio of my work, I am going to start working with musicians around the country to record small works of mine to be placed on YouTube. These recordings will be given 'mini-recitals' of 3 works at a time. To help facilitate this, I am going to look for funding to help with the overall logistics and planning of the videos themselves. I think there is something positive that could come out of YouTube for me.

2. I will be contacting musicians in Indianapolis and look at hopefully starting my own small ensemble which I can use to also record my works and those of my peers at the Chicago College of Performing Arts.

For my readers, I am placing a link to the YouTube video for Silence.

Silence - YouTube Video! Click Me!!!

Handling Performances While Being Sick

This week has been a blur for me. This past Monday I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with bronchitis and walking pneumonia. It was horrible. I slept from Friday afternoon through to Tuesday afternoon. Ended up missing most of my classes this week - luckily, I informed my professors of my sickness and they were gracious to excuse me. The premiere of my piece, Silence, was on Tuesday (audio from the concert below). The performance was amazing. Sadly, while I was in attendance, I wasn't in attendance. My mind was far more focused on getting better and prepping for the two finals that I had this week.

Silence - Click Me!

If you'd like to comment on the performance, you can visit the posting on Young Composers Music Forum:

YC Silence - Click Me!!

I was greatly appreciative of the wonderful musicians who rehearsed with me (and took it upon themselves to meet when I couldn't be there due to being sick). They were amazing.

Mezzo-Soprano: Meredith Godsall
Oboe: Taylor Nelson
Horn: Josh Rosen
Violoncello: Sarah Zilonis

I was also impressed with a few of the other pieces on the program by my colleagues in the composition department at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. When I get my last final done on Monday, I'll rip the audio and share their amazing works with my readers here, but here is a list of some of the other amazing pieces:

A Cadenza Prior to a Revolution - Daniel Fawcett
Devil Wings - TJ Russo
Story of the Eye for Solo Flute in 13 Parts - Daniel Souphis
4 Songs - Dominic Frigo
Nay Nava - Parisa Sabet

I hope everyone is ready for the holidays! Merry Christmas!!

Bad Day...

Today has been a fairly bad day. I went to work this morning at 9 am, after having only gotten a few hours of sleep. I had this feeling last night that something was going to happen today - and thus, just couldn't sleep. Well, sure enough, after about an hour and a half of work. My boss asks me to gather my things and come to the conference room. There, I was terminated for not meeting the sales quota for the past two/three weeks. The impact of the termination is still fresh on me - I guess I'm sort of wrought with fear. What am I going to do now? What can I do to possibly raise the money I need to remain at school for the spring semester? How can I raise that money in less than a month?

I don't want to let this experience taint the success that I've had here the last few months career wise:

1) I've had readings of my work.
2) I've composed several new works that, I feel, are my best works to date.
3) I have a performance of one work coming up on December 6th.
4) I've finalized the contract with a publisher from Europe. This publisher will publish my work for the next 5 years - with distribution in Europe and America.

For once in my life, I am actively living as a composer - doing what I always wanted to do. I feel that these little obstacles that come up are minor at best and, hopefully, that things will work out so I can maintain the growth that I'm experiencing in my craft. Time will tell though. It's not going to be an easy time coming up. Most I can do is face it head on and persevere. The rewards in the end make this time of struggle important.

In closing, I want to wish my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! Despite the setbacks I've had the last three months, I'm still grateful for all that I've experienced and all the positive things that have happened. I'm also grateful for my step-mother, Barbara Woodruff, she has stood strong by me and has aided me as best she can in this trying time. And I'm grateful for all the wonderful people in my life. Thank you all, I wouldn't be in Chicago right now if not for all your pushing. I promise I will try to make this work and will do my best to make everyone proud. I love you all.

Reading of two of my works

I have been having an amazing time up here in Chicago despite the stress in dealing with financing. So far, I have had two of my works read in our composition seminar: Falling Ash for solo flute and Fanfare for brass quintet.

Falling Ash started as a piece with very little programmatic inflections. I named it falling ash out randomly. As I got into composing the work, however, the title seemed to direct the overall flow and development of the ideas. In that vein, the work focuses on 1 lone ash ember as it descends to the ground. Rising up and falling down. Zooming in to see the intricacies of movement every now and then. The reading of the work was good. The opening was a bit too airy - not what I wanted. The tempo marking I indicated asked for Rubato and the flautist was able to provide that, somewhat. All in all, a good reading.

The Fanfare for Brass Quintet was one of the most difficult pieces I've written. I had the initial idea, which opens the piece in the Horn, sketched weeks before. The final version was the result of about 9 previous attempts at writing for the ensemble. The work itself looks at two contrasting ideas and superimposes them on top of each other towards the middle of the work. The reading went well. The only issue they had was my use of the tuba descending on triplet sixteenths AND a few notational errors in the score - mainly beaming issues.

All in all, I really enjoyed hearing both of these works being read by live instruments. I think I learned a lot from the experience!

Hope my readers are having a good morning!

Time Constraints, Funding Issues, and Composition!

The past few months have been exceptionally busy for me. So this will be a much longer post than normal to make up for the absence!

My time of late has become extremely limited. I have been working in the call center at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, going to school full time, and trying to arrange time to complete homework and compositions! I like keeping busy but time is just so precious AND I have to have time to relax to regroup my bearings a bit. I love it though!

I still haven't got the funding issue taken care of. My family urged me to live on campus instead of off campus - and that has really cost me. So, since I'm unable to pay the 1200/month payment on my remaining balance to the school - I won't be able to register for spring classes. I've been searching for various grants and scholarships to assist in helping me pay off the housing. Sadly, with this economy most of these options are swamped with applications! I'm debating, and perhaps my readers can offer insight, about perhaps trying to raise money through my friends via FB and my other social network sites. I've heard of people doing this before - any thoughts?

Finally, I have been very active in my composition pursuits. I have composed a new work for string quartet, a piece for solo flute, a miniature for brass quintet, AND am now working on a song for mezzo-soprano with oboe and horn accompaniment! I've learned a lot so far in my studies up here. Hopefully, I can get things situated financially to remain in class without any interruptions!

Hope all my readers have been having an amazing couple of months. I promise to start blogging more! I miss sharing and venting my thoughts and frustrations.

Chicago!

First, I just want to say that Chicago is..... ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I love this city and am starting to really be able to maneuver around this area without any problems!

Second, I have had an amazing week of orientation at CCPA! My teachers are amazing and the school is so 'serious' about music study! I think I'll do well here. I registered for my classes today:

Musicianship I ABC (Aural, Sight Singing, and Written Theory)
Elements of Conducting
Composition Seminar
Composition Lessons with Dr. Choi
Music History I

Third, I also now work for the Chicago Symphony's Priority Seating department! I started on Monday!!!

That's just a bit of the excitement of my week this week. It's been amazing here! LOVE IT!

Indianapolis Family Time

In Indianapolis with my family for one last week before move-in day this Saturday! Going to see my Grandma tomorrow! So excited!

Got an email today from the head of the composition department at Roosevelt. I will be studying with Dr. Choi! I was hoping to get Dr. Garrop but I'm not going to complain. Dr Choi seems like a very knowledgeable woman! Really stoked about the start of the school year!!! <3

Better Today...

So I woke up this morning and stepped outside. Was an absolutely breathtaking morning! It got me thinking though... no matter how much drama can occur in a day, there is always another day. And today has been a lot better actually.

A quiet day...

Been taking a bit of a break today from focusing on school-related stuff. Worked a little bit this morning on a piano piece. Nothing too substantial, just fun. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Piano Sonata and family news

Continuing work on my piano sonata while doing some in depth studying this weekend for my finals next week. The piano sonata has been slowly churning, lol. I'm just now at about 100 bars - going slow due to the fact that I've been extremely busy with classes.

On the family front, my Uncle's cancer has come out of remission at Stage 3! So, I'm going to make sure I spend extra time with him when I go to Indy on the 23rd. He's been very close to me over the years, and in many ways has filled the place of my parents when they couldn't be there for me. So, yeah, he's been a very important part of my life.

Genealogical Findings

Over spring break I went to good old southern Indiana to search the local cemeteries for ancestors. To my surprise, I discovered about 10 graves belonging to the Meurer family. The graves were pretty easy to find and I was able to snap photos of all of them. One place I wish I had stopped was Fountain County's Mount Hope Cemetery. I discovered, while doing searches for my great great grandfather William H Hopper, his tombstone at the cemetery along with his wife Mary J Linville. He has been a very hard person to track down since he went by William later in life and Harrison (or Harris) early in life. In the 1920 census, I located him in Covington, IN. along with his son Walter J. Hopper (who is listed on the 1900 census along with my Great Grandfather S W Hopper, thus connecting the two.) It's been a fascinating, yet extremely difficult task of reconstructing the family history. Now if only I could find out where my great great great grandfather, Philipp A. Meurer, was born at in Germany and WHEN he arrived in America.

On the musical front, I have also been toiling away on a new piano sonata. I have the first movement nearly finished - just working diligently on the development section. The work is a bit different than my regular works. I'm really trying to apply the sonata-allegro format in a different way than I've normally done. Will keep you updated!

Dad - 1 year later

Tonight is the evening before the 1 year anniversary of the death of my father. To commemorate the anniversary, I will be spending the weekend with my family in Indianapolis. It's amazing to look back at the past year and see how much things have changed in my life. 1 year ago today, I only *dreamed* of getting back in school. Today, I am not only back in school but in the fall will be transferring to a very good music conservatory to study with an amazing teacher. 1 year ago today, my life lacked clear direction. I dreamed of various projects and complained about how I would do them. Today, my life has a clear direction and I am now working on those projects that I complained about a year ago. I think a lot of the changes this past year have been largely due to the rammifications of my father's death. When I heard the news that morning, it clicked something in my brain and made me realize that life is too short AND one must make the most of it. I decided that morning to go back to school AND today, I am grateful for that decision. Dad, thank you for giving me the impetus to do good in my life. I promise I will not let you, nor I, down. I know you are smiling down upon me. I will always love and remember you!

Thoughts and Decisions

Beginning the thought process for moving to a new city is a difficult task. I don't feel that overwhelmed, to be honest. I used to live in Chicago for a year - granted, that was 10 years ago. My choices now are whether to live on campus or off campus, whether to get a part time job or perhaps apply for work study, and what equipment am I going to need to get to ensure that I do my best at the university. The on campus/off campus decision is a hard one - largely because it's like weighing to evils. Off campus housing in Chicago can be cheaper BUT it can also be more costly when bills and food costs weigh in. On campus housing in Chicago can be pricier BUT it can less costly considering your not paying for utilities! Transportation isn't an issue as the school requires students to have a CTA pass - so that is at least one factor that is alleviated. I'm kind of bent on the job issue. A music major degree, I've always known, requires a LOT of work. Rehearsals, practicing, composition time, study time, etc. can eat away at any amount of free time that I might have available to me to work a part time job. Work study, however, appears to be the best fix for that as the school would work around MY schedule! Finally, I'm going to need to get a new macbook or mac pc to make sure that my computer and software are in synch. Ah, so much to think about. It's exciting!

Accepted!

I am very pleased to announce that I have been accepted to the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University! I plan on accepting close to the end of April AFTER I get up the $1,000 tuition/housing deposit! I was so excited to receive the news and am extremely thankful that I have been given the chance to pursue my career goals at such a fantastic institution AND a great city! Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me to apply! <3

Sofia Gubaidulina - A new role model!

I've been becoming increasingly more aware of the work of Sofia Gubaidulina. I was perusing YouTube to hear famous violist, Yuri Bashmet, and came across a viola concerto by Sofie Gubaidulina. Instantly, upon hearing, I was mesmerized. The work was in a basic ritornello form but was amazing in scope and intensity. After spending months listening to nothing but Gubaidulina, I have gained an amazing respect for this modern composer! If only I could study with her!

Here is her Piano Concerto:

Lisztian Gems

I was perusing the vast amount of videos on YouTube and came across this amazing gem by Liszt. I knew Liszt had experimented with quasi-atonality and other things, but this work really took my breath away. I think I might arrange this some day for strings - it'd be gorgeous!

A Beautiful Tuesday

I have a bit of free time today. I think I might be able to get some more work done on 'Story of the First Butterflies'. I may also make some amending to Imprintations. I received a lot of VERY positive feedback on the work. Lots of recordings to pour over! I didn't really expect that much response on the work - especially considering most of my other works seem to fall on deaf ears/eyes. Needless to say, I'm greatly enjoying the attention it's receiving!

New Solo Viola Work

Was talking to a friend of mine who is taking pre-college courses at Julliard and he wanted to know 'when' I would write a piece for him to play. He's a young man, I think only 13 or so, but is an amazing prodigy at music. On top of playing viola, he is also a wonderfully talented young composer! Needless to say, I was taken aback at him asking me for a piece - I hadn't even heard him play! So, in talking with him, I tailored a short viola piece of about 135 bars. I focused on exploring one of my favorite intervals: the minor second. The work's form is in abridged sonata-allegro AND is one which I purposefully work with climactic points. The work is viewable on Young Composers, link provided below. Enjoy! Once he gets the piece practiced he promised he would play it at his next recital!

Imprintations for Solo Viola

Beautiful Day and a Wonderful Discussion

First, I want to say that I am going to be making a more conscientious attempt to keep regular with my blog postings. I was kind of discouraged in myself yesterday when I saw that I hadn't posted in well over a month! Shame on me! Second, today was such a beautiful day. The birds were out, spiders were starting to make their nests, and the temperature was a nice fifty five degrees! I loved it. Third, I LOVED having the windows open!!!

Lastly in today's installment, I got into a wonderful discussion on Young Composers Music Forum regarding imitation of older composers work. By imitating another composers, one member posited, a young composer can learn how to write music AND do so after the initial learning phase. I argue, however, that no one can 'truly' imitate the work of another. While you may be able to imitate some aspects of the work, you are not able to imitate others. Namely, you cannot imitate how the composer wrote the work, the reasons why the composer chose one form and structure as opposed to another in terms of development, the reason why the composer focused on certain material instead of other material, and finally you can't imitate the composers frame of mind while writing the work. So, the idea that one can fully imitate a musical style of a composer from the past is virtually impossible.


Just my two cents.

You can read the discussion here.

Update on things

I have been extremely busy with school this past few weeks and have severely neglected my readers here on the blog. I've had a little bit of time to compose and have begun work, as I think I may have already mentioned, on a work inspired by a Native American myth I received as a handout in my World Religions course. I will not post this just yet - as I want to make it a surprise to everyone on its completion! The work, though, is amazing to say the least and I have labored intensely on it - in fact, I've probably spent more time on this work then any other large scale piece in the past few years!
I do have something I can share with my readers here. Two of my videos on YouTube have achieved important milestones for me! About a year ago, I composed a set of three bridal processionals for a friend. He was going to propose to one of my dearest friends - and asked me to pen the processionals for that day. Sadly, the relationship didn't even last 6 more months! So, I posted the three processionals on YouTube where they have been receiving ample views! One of them is up to 3,000 + views and the other has broken 1125 views. I consider this a milestone largely because there are MANY classical works on YouTube that have received far less than 1000 views - with a large majority under 500. That two of my works have received so many views is something I'm extremely happy with.
So, to celebrate this milestone I have uploaded 3 new videos to YouTube and plan to create and upload more of my work to the site. One of my works, for two pianos, is currently being rehearsed and will be recorded for YouTube. I already made the video for it - and now someone wants to play it! I'm so excited. As a treat for those who read this blog - and especially for those who view it regularly and have put up with my ramblings - I am including a link to my YouTube Channel and links to all three of the new videos! Happy Valentines Day!!!!

My YouTube Channel
Fire and Ice
Solemn Dance
Unnamed for Two Pianos